Attacks by opposing forces exist in a variety of forms, including military enemies, terrorists, and/or militant groups. Such attacks often include more covert aggression in the form of entrapment devices, or booby-traps, such as landmines and IEDs. These entrapment devices are exceptionally hazardous and often result in the lost lives of peacekeeping forces and damage to vehicles and other equipment. Generally, the groups using such devices are unorganized and rely on unconventional methods of attack. For example, terrorists may bury roadside bombs without direction or coordination from an organized chain of command. Thus, when these devices are not used, they are often forgotten about and remain as a hazard to non-combatants after aggressions/hostilities cease.
Certain devices, such as landmines are pressure sensitive devices that ignite based on the depression of a triggering mechanism. These devices may be ignited simply by means of dragging weighted objects across the ground where the device lies. For example, during the Vietnam War, helicopters would drag large/heavy metal platforms across the ground to trigger landmines. While this method may still be useful in igniting pressure sensitive devices, it is substantially ineffective at igniting electronically triggered explosive devices, such as IEDs, because these devices are not typically designed to ignite upon physical force. For example, an IED may be placed underground or roadside by terrorists and connected to some sort of triggering mechanism that remotely detonates the explosive thereof when desired (e.g., a switch in communication with a cellular telephone, wires connected to a remote switch, etc.). Thus, the triggering mechanism may be used by the terrorists to ignite the IED when the terrorist's target passes by. Ignition of the IED is intended to confuse, disable and/or destroy the terrorist's target. IED's at the very least cause apprehension and lost focus amongst peacekeeping forces and civilians. Ignition or disabling of an IED prior to its intended ignition by terrorists (e.g., pre-detonation) may substantially reduce their overall effectiveness.